1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for electronic utility (e.g., water and gas) metering and leak detection.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a home or building, utilities such as water and gas are used for various reasons throughout the day and night. For example, in homes, water is used randomly and for varying time intervals through the day and night. Although water usage tends to be less at night, water is still used (e.g., for toilets, automatic sprinklers, etc.). The water usage in commercial buildings follows a similar pattern. This makes it difficult to test for leaks, since there is no predictable time during the day or night that water usage drops to zero.
As is known, some waterline leaks can be easily detected because of the presence of detected ground water or the presence of water puddles in the vicinity of a water pipe. However, other waterline leaks go undetected until a water bills become unusually high or water damage is discovered.
Gas leaks are potentially more dangerous than water leaks, and can be more difficult to detect.
Owners of large apartment buildings and commercial buildings face additional problems in monitoring water usage and leak detection. The amount of water and other utilities used by such commercial structures is typically much larger than the usage of a residence or other smaller structure. Moreover, the plumbing and sprinkler systems of such structures tend to be more complex than the systems found in a residence. Thus, any inefficiencies in the usage of utilities is magnified in a large commercial structure, and the costs of such inefficiencies are magnified. For example, in a large commercial structure, water is used for toilets, industrial processes, heating and air-conditioning, fire sprinkler systems, and irrigation sprinkler systems. The management of a large commercial building often does not have an accurate accounting of water usage by the various systems. A maintenance issue as minor as a broken irrigation sprinkler head can cause increased and unnecessary water usage.
Conventional water and gas meters used in connection with residential and commercial structures measure the total amount of water or gas used, but do not monitor the usage patterns. Thus, conventional meters do not provide the information needed to detect leaks.